Hundreds Have Rallied In Support Of Pill-Testing In Sydney This Afternoon

Hundreds of people have rallied in Sydney this afternoon to call on the state government to implement pill-testing at live music events.

Protesters gathered outside Sydney Town Hall brandishing signs and chanting slogans expressing their support for pill-testing and other harm reduction methods, which have been vocally opposed by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

Addressing the crowd, federal Greens leader Richard Di Natale accused Berejiklian of sending the message that “if somebody makes a choice to take a drug, they should pay for that choice with their lives”.

“No decent society does that,” said Di Natale. “So I say to the Premier of NSW. Indeed, I say to the Premier of every state in this country. I say to my counterparts in Canberra: it’s time you got out of the way and let health professionals do their job.”

.@RichardDiNatale: This idea that pill testing sends the wrong message – the message you’re sending right now, @GladysB, is that if somebody makes a choice to take a drug, they should pay for that choice with their lives.